Consumers have limited options for using a prepaid or stored value card and reloading the card with additional funds once the funds on the card have been spent or are insufficient for a purchase. It is desirable to have a prepaid or stored value card where a consumer can reload the card with additional funds at a point of sale whereby no new or additional hardware is needed, the consumer can have access to the funds immediately, and the consumer does not need to perform any additional steps beyond conducting the transaction at a point of sale.
Once funds have been used on a conventional gift card, the gift card cannot be reloaded with additional funds. Conventional gift cards have expiration dates, very restricted use (sometimes limited only to a particular store), and may include fees. For example, gift cards can often only be used at a single retailer. A prepaid gift card may also be limited to a one-time purchase. As another limitation, gift cards may be limited to a fixed monetary value. Because gift cards often require an upfront purchase fee, a consumer would likely not purchase a gift card for their own use.
A general purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid card, also known as a prepaid debit card, is often aimed at low-income consumers to provide a convenient and cost-effective alternative to using basic checking accounts. The GPR card can be a pre-funded card that allows a consumer to conduct transactions over a credit card network, but the transaction deducts funds from a pre-funded account rather than a line of credit or a checking account. The consumer can fund the card account through a direct deposit of wages, tax refunds, or other disbursements, such as social security, child support, welfare, or other payments.
Also, unlike a conventional credit card, a GPR card may not be associated with the cardholder and does not contain a lot of information about the cardholder. As a result, a GPR card may be easier to obtain than a credit card or a debit card, as there are no credit approval requirements. Instead, the customer provides minimal information to meet certain regulatory requirements, such as Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. A GPR card issuer may require some identification, such a social security number, individual tax identification number, driving license, voter identity card, passport, or a foreign-issued identification. A GPR card issuer may also require some proof of address, such a telephone bill, electricity bill, tax assessment order, or a letter from an employer.
Reloading a GPR card can only be done at a designated point of sale with specially-programmed hardware, and it is currently a separate process from other point of sale transactions. A GPR card can be reloaded in only a few limited ways. In one example, using a Visa prepaid card, a consumer can also use a Visa ReadyLink kiosk where the card was purchased. At the kiosk, the consumer swipes the prepaid card and inserts cash to be loaded on the card. In another example, using an American Express prepaid card, a consumer can request to transfer funds from a bank account to the card using a website or over the phone, and the transfer of the funds will be approved in three to five business days. However, the ability to reload a prepaid card using a debit card, credit card, or a checking account is often not useful to a cardholder who does not have another account. Additionally, using a credit card or debit card to fund a prepaid card could increase the risk that prepaid cards are used for money laundering, whereby a stolen credit card or debit card is used to fund a prepaid card.
The consumer can also use a MoneyPak, which is usually available on a j-hook in a retail store and is available in various monetary amounts. The consumer pays (usually with cash) for the value of the MoneyPak and a fee for the MoneyPak (e.g., $4.95) to an authorized retailer, who can add the value to the GPR card. The retailer scans a barcode on the selected MoneyPak to activate the account. The cardholder must then contact the GPR card issuer via the Internet or over the phone (e.g., using interactive voice response services or call centers). The cardholder provides account information and a PIN to complete the transfer of the funds.
Thus, there exists a need for a GPR card that can be more readily used to make payments, receive funds from another entity for a specific purchase, and reload the card with additional funds. In some instances, it is desirable that the card may be loaded with funds from another party besides the cardholder or that the funds be applied for only a specific purpose. For example, the adjudication and administration of vaccines requires the processing of payments between various parties. A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains a small amount of an agent that resembles a microorganism. The agent stimulates the body's immune system to recognize the agent as foreign, destroys it, and “remembers” it, so that the immune system can more easily recognize and destroy any of these microorganisms that it later encounters. Vaccines can be prophylactic (e.g. to prevent or ameliorate the effects of a future infection by any natural or “wild” pathogen), or therapeutic (e.g. vaccines against cancer are also being investigated; see cancer vaccine).
As the drug used in a vaccine is typically a controlled substance regulated by a governmental body, rather the self medicating as an over-the-counter drug, a patient normally must have the vaccine administered a healthcare service provider. The cost of the vaccine, as well as the cost of administering the vaccine to the patient, are typically paid for by an insurance company, where the patient is either the insured or a person for which the patient is financially responsible. After receiving a vaccine, a claim is filed for the insured for the cost of the healthcare goods and services against an insurance policy of the insured. Upon adjudication of the claim, the insurance company pays the healthcare service provider for the cost of the vaccine and the cost of administering the vaccine to the patient.
A patient's vaccine is typically paid for by the patient's insurance company. Substantiation of a healthcare service provided by a healthcare service provider for an insured's insurance policy, and adjudication of the resultant insurance claim for the healthcare service so provided can involve numerous parties that are required to perform numerous functions. Often, these functions must be performed at substantial overhead costs and before the health service provider can be reimbursed for rendering the healthcare service to the patient. It would be an advantage in the relevant arts to provide healthcare service payments to healthcare service providers, such as for vaccine shots, without insurance claims system adjudication by a healthcare benefits management entity. Also, there is a need for a system that reduces the costs incurred by healthcare service providers and their patients in the former providing healthcare services to the latter.